Servsafe Training

Servsafe training is a requirement for every food-related business. According to Health & Safety Codes in every state, at least one supervisory employee must be trained in the principles of safe food handling and is supposed to train other workers on the premises. Some counties within states have stricter requirements that may be awkward to correlate with each other, given the language in which codes are usually written. However, there is no disagreement over the requirement for an owner or manager to have passed the ServSafe training exam.

ServSafe® is a registered trademark of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. NRAEF developed the safety certification program in 1995 and classes generally take a total of 16 to 18 hours. Enrollees must pass the examination with at least a 75 percent score. Persons who fail may retake the exam for an additional fee.

ServSafe training can be obtained through many university extension services. Some also offer a shorter training class for volunteer food preparers, since they also need to know how to keep food safe. No one knows how many people have become ill from potato salads taken to company or church picnics, for example, or from turkeys left sitting overnight on the kitchen counter after Thanksgiving. However, the number of people stricken with food poisoning is estimated at anywhere from 6 million to 13 million annually in the United States alone.

ServeSafe Training and Online Exams

The ServSafe training exam can now be taken online at proctored exam centers. Procedures for proctors are very detailed and must be adhered to. The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation believes safe food handling is a mindset, as well as a certificate. Therefore, safety and health of the customer must be foremost every day and this involves every person handling the food. There can be no certifications for those who do not qualify.